LOCAL : Woman Killed as Train Hits Car

A woman was killed this morning when her car was hit by a northbound Amtrak train as it sped through Irvine, police said.

The train struck the car with such force that the woman was thrown 60 feet from her car and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Her name was not immediately available.

The accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. as the woman was headed south on Culver Drive. Witnesses said part of the car was under the barrier arms as they came down as the train approached. She then drove out from under the barrier and across the tracks.

Kelly Albright of El Toro, who saw the accident, said part of the rear of the woman’s car remained on the tracks.

“The lights started flashing and the arm started coming down,� Albright said. “She had already started through (and) the front of her car was underneath the bar. So she thought she could make it through. She should have stopped and backed up. . . . Her (car’s) trunk was over the track, not even a foot� when it was struck by the train.

Alex Bos, who was directly behind the woman’s car, said that he backed up to make room for her but that she stayed on the tracks. “I saw her panicking right in front of me and I was waiting for her to open her safety belt and run,� Bos said.

Becky Bennett of El Toro, who was driving a car directly in front of the woman who was killed, said drivers were screaming and honking when the barrier arms came down.

“She kept screaming and she saw the train and she just kind of looked at the train and she was gone,� Bennett said.